POVERTY AND SOCIAL PROGRAMS

This timeline delves into the positions of the Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ) on poverty and social programs. It highlights the connections between poverty, gender, and other forms of oppression, as well as the struggles for fair, inclusive, and egalitarian social policies.

Please Note: The definitive text of our Stances is available in French only. The English translation is provided strictly for reference.

2024

THAT FFQ mobilize for the reform of the concept of marital life on last-resort assistance, in particular by :

  • Supporting the work and demands of the women’s committee of the Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec;
  • Supporting and promoting the petition to modernize the concept of marital life for welfare recipients;
  • By mobilizing all other relevant resources (media, research, etc.) to advance the fight for the right to love for people on welfare or in precarious situations;
  • By insisting on the amplified consequences for women at the crossroads of oppression, notably women with disabilities and women from immigrant families.

2017

THAT FFQ collaborate in preparing the ‘’Forum alternatif sur le revenu minimum garanti’’ proposed by the Groupe de recherche et d’action sur la pauvreté (GRAP) and the Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec (FCPASQ), with other community, labor, and researcher organizations, bringing an intersectional feminist perspective.

2016

THAT FFQ oppose any government proposal to implement a guaranteed minimum income that would not meet, notably, the following conditions:

  • Universal and free public services;
  • A viable minimum wage and labor standards;
  • Avoiding the trap of valorizing the traditional role of women and making their care work invisible;
  • Ensuring coverage of needs according to the amount determined by the Market Basket Measure (MBM).

2014

THAT FFQ take a stance regarding the demand for a guaranteed universal basic income in 2015-2016.

2010

THAT FFQ denounce and oppose the reduction in staffing levels in the administrative staff of the health and social services network, education, and universities, as outlined in Bill 100 (Act to implement certain provisions of the budget speech of March 30, 2010, aiming to return to budget balance by 2013-2014 and reduce debt).

2007

THAT FFQ maintain its support for mobilizations aiming for:

  • coverage of essential needs;
  • full and retroactive indexing to 2004-2005 of social assistance benefits;
  • the right to social assistance for immigrants upon arrival in Quebec;
  • complete exclusion of child support payments from the calculation of incomes of single-parent families whose incomes come from Income Security and the Student Loans and Bursaries Program;
  • substantial increase in the minimum wage;
  • defense of the rights of retired women.

2006

THAT FFQ supports mobilizations for full and retroactive indexing to 2004-2005 of social assistance benefits, free access to prescribed medications for individuals with an annual income of less than $12,000, the right to social assistance for immigrants upon arrival in Quebec, and complete exclusion of child support payments from the calculation of incomes of single-parent families whose incomes come from Income Security and the Student Loans and Grants Program.

2005

THAT FFQ support mobilization for full and retroactive indexing to 2004-2005 of social assistance benefits, free access to prescribed medications for individuals with an annual income of less than $12,000, and the right to social assistance for immigrants upon arrival in Quebec.

THAT FFQ participate in the debate launched by the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté on determining essential needs and take a position.

THAT FFQ continue its work surrounding the reform of the Quebec Pension Plan, intervene in this process, and advocate for feminist analysis and alternatives developed and presented during the consultation in January 2004 to be recognized publicly.

THAT FFQ Women and Globalization Committee continues research to deepen understanding of the impacts of free trade agreements, government liberalization policies, and corporate practices on the work, working conditions, and lives of women in Quebec.

THAT FFQ commit, with groups advocating for the rights of social assistance recipients, to work towards the emergence of the social assistance law needed to truly move towards a Quebec without poverty.

2004

THAT FFQ emphasize the relevance and accuracy of the analyses developed by the coordinator and the entire team of the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté.

THAT FFQ actively engage and mobilize its members in all actions initiated by the Collectif pour un Québec sans pauvreté to achieve a Quebec without poverty, particularly advocating for the withdrawal of Bill 57, An Act respecting support for persons and families (to replace the current Act respecting income support and promoting employment and social solidarity, which would mean a dangerous return to special regimes and arbitrariness that the first social assistance law in 1969 sought to correct).

1997

THAT FFQ continue its efforts to obtain reform of income security and family policy that respects people’s right to a decent income while offering measures to promote their social integration and access to voluntary paid work, and promoting recognition of women’s integration and production in the domestic and voluntary sphere.

1997

THAT FFQ support actions taken by workers in the public, private, community sectors, and self-employed workers to maintain their jobs, continue to offer quality services to the Quebec population, and combat the precariousness that many of them face.

1997

THAT FFQ work to build, with popular and union movements, alternatives to neoliberalism that offer hope. FFQ should therefore participate in necessary debates on universal basic income or social and solidarity economy and take action against attacks on our social gains.

1997

THAT FFQ support the demands of the Coalition sur l’assurance-médicaments as formulated below:

  • Free medication for individuals living below the poverty threshold as determined by Statistics Canada;
  • Progressive contributions for individuals living above this threshold. Their contribution to system costs should be much more gradually based on their income and ability to pay;
  • Parity between public and private insurance systems. Individuals required to insure privately should enjoy the same conditions as those insured by the Quebec Health Insurance Board;
  • Coverage for all holders of health insurance cards (i.e., all federal employees);
  • Implementation of measures ensuring confidentiality of claims made by workers covered by collective insurance plans.